News: 2/20/96

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Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996 05:01:11 -0800
Status: R
(1) Banharn Agrees To Pay Burma Mid-March Visit
PRIME Minister Banharn Silpa-archa has agreed in principle to
pick a date between March 18 and 22 to visit Rangoon as proposed
by the Burmese government, an informed government source said
yesterday.
While an exact date is yet to be finalised, the source expected
Mr Banharn to arrive in Rangoon on March 18 and stay at least two
days.
Mr Banharn is due back in Bangkok to welcome Polish Prime
Minister Wodzimierz Cimoszewicz who is paying an official visit
during March 20-21. Mr Banharn is also scheduled to visit China
during March 24-29, the source added.
The visit to Rangoon is widely seen as an attempt by the Thai
government to restore bilateral relations to the same level as
during the prime ministership of Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda who
visited Burma in 1980. Rangoon ordered closed two checkpoints at
Myawaddy-Mae Sot in Tak province and Tachilek-Mae Sai in Chiang
Rai province last March, after accusing Thailand of supporting
ethnic Shan and Karen rebels fighting the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC).
A third checkpoint at Kawthaung-Ranong was closed last August
following the killing of three Burmese crewmen on board of a Thai
fishing vessel.
When in Rangoon Mr Banharn is expected to witness the signing of
a border trade agreement between the two countries. But it is
still uncertain whether Rangoon will
open the three border checkpoints.
The source said the Mr Banharn is expected to decide on the date
for his official visit after the Asia-Europe Meeting on March
1-2. He is also expected to take into account the results of the
two-day talks between the Thai-Burmese Regional Border Committee
in Moulmein ending today.
Following the killing of the three Burmese fishermen, the Burmese
government has reportedly demanded 2.5 billion baht for losses of
opportunity in conducting fishing business, and 25 million baht
more for each victim.
The court in Ranong province that sentenced two Thai suspects to
life imprisonment has commuted it to 25 years in jail.
Regarding the visit to China, Mr Banharn is scheduled to visit
China's capital of Beijing, an old city Xi-An and Shan Tou.
Speculation is rife that Shan Tou is included in the visit
because it is the hometown of the premier's ancestors-Ma Dexiang.
(2) 12 Tourists Ordered Out of Kachin State
TWELVE Italian tourists found out that Visit Myanmar Year doesn't
mean the whole country. The army trucked them out of a northern
hilltribe village and sent them back to the capital, Italian
Embassy officials said yesterday.
"They were very angry about it," a spokesman for the embassy in
Rangoon, who requested anonymity, told The Associated Press by
telephone.
It was the second reported incident in a month of troops
harassing tourists in northern
Burma. The military government has renamed the country Myanmar.
Burma's military government, which has been denied aid and loans
from international financial institutions because of its brutal
human rights record, has been busy promoting Visit Myanmar Year
1996. It hopes an influx of tourists will provide it with badly
needed foreign currency.
In a letter to the embassy they told of being awakened at 1 a.m.
on January 3 in a Kachin village named Nam Khan by soldiers who
said they did nothave permission to be there.
The travellers believed permission had been obtained by their
tour operator.
They said they were loaded on to an old, open-backed military
truck in temperatures of (32 F) and driven to the city of
Putao. During the journey the truck nearly fell off a bridge,
they said.
In Putao, they were forced on to a plane for Rangoon, the
capital, they added.
The embassy spokesman said he thought the problem was lack of
communication between the central Burmese authorities and those
in Kachin state, which opened up for tourism only in late 1995.
Burma, he said, is not prepared for the wave of tourists it wants
to attract.
He said he sent a protest letter to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, but has yet to
receive a reply.
Also in January, a group of British and American cyclists who had
planned to travel from the northern city of Mandalay to the
ancient capital of Pagan, and received approval from the Myanmar
Cycling Federation, was stopped at the beginning of its journey
by army troops and military intelligence and forced back to
Rangoon.
The cyclists claimed their bicycles were damaged and that they
were followed and harassed and one said soldiers robbed him of
$1,500 in cash and gems.
Burmese authorities never responded to their questions about why
they were treated in such a manner, they said.
AP
(3) Focus On Border
Burmese officials from the Department for Development of Border
Areas and National Races have held talks with local leaders in
Kokang, Wa and Shan regions in the northwest command for the
first time since drug warlord Khun Sa surrendered to Rangoon last
month. They spoke about education, health, energy and agriculture
as well as water supplies.
The officials figure stated that 475.5 million kyat (about US$ 80
million) was spent in the fiscal year 1995-96 until January 22 to
develop border areas.
(4)Kiet Promises To Back Burma's ASEAN Drive Hanoi
VIETNAMESE PRIME Minister Vo Van Kiet has pledged his
government's support for Burma's bid join the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations.
Mr Kiet told visiting Burmese Interior Minister Mya Thin that
Vietnam always supported Burma's wish to strengthen ties with
ASEAN, the English-language Vietnam News reported.
Burma acceded to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and
applied for observer status at the annual meeting of ASEAN
foreign ministers in Brunei last July. ASEAN allowed Rangoon to
accede to its main treaty, but declined observer status.
Mr Mya Thin led a delegation of Burmese Interior Ministry
officials for his first working visit to Vietnam which ended
February 12. Burmese minister, who is a member of the ruling
State Law and Order Restoration Council, also was the first
Burmese minister to visit Vietnam this year.
Mr Kiet said more efforts should be made to boost ties between
the two countries, adding Vietnam was ready to share experiences
with Burma in agriculture.
Burmese Prime Minister and SLORC chairman Gen Than Shwe has
invited Vietnamese Communist Party chief Do Muoi. and President
Le Duc Anh to visit Rangoon this year, according to the
Vietnamese press.
The two countries have gradually established closer relations
with an exchange of visits at various levels. The visits were
highlighted last March with the visit to Vietnam by a 40-member
delegation led by Gen Than Shwe and the visit to Burma by Mr Kiet
in May 1994.
The two countries established ties in 1975.
(5) Kiet Promises To Back Burma's ASEAN Drive Hanoi
VIETNAMESE PRIME Minister Vo Van Kiet has pledged his
government's support for Burma's bid join the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations.
Mr Kiet told visiting Burmese Interior Minister Mya Thin that
Vietnam always supported Burma's wish to strengthen ties with
ASEAN, the English-language Vietnam News reported.
Burma acceded to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and
applied for observer status at the annual meeting of ASEAN
foreign ministers in Brunei last July. ASEAN allowed Rangoon to
accede to its main treaty, but declined observer status.
Mr Mya Thin led a delegation of Burmese Interior Ministry
officials for his first working visit to Vietnam which ended
February 12. Burmese minister, who is a member of the ruling
State Law and Order Restoration Council, also was the first
Burmese minister to visit Vietnam this year.
Mr Kiet said more efforts should be made to boost ties between
the two countries, adding Vietnam was ready to share experiences
with Burma in agriculture.
Burmese Prime Minister and SLORC chairman Gen Than Shwe has
invited Vietnamese Communist Party chief Do Muoi. and President
Le Duc Anh to visit Rangoon this year, according to the
Vietnamese press.
The two countries have gradually established closer relations
with an exchange of visits at various levels. The visits were
highlighted last March with the visit to Vietnam by a 40-member
delegation led by Gen Than Shwe and the visit to Burma by Mr Kiet
in May 1994.
The two countries established ties in 1975.
(6) Indochinese Countries And Burma Offer Business:
No Clear Best Investors Must Balance Merits And Pitfalls
REPORT:
Special Correspondent
FROM THE financial perspective, investment in Indochina offers no
clear winners,; according to speakers at a recent Economist
Conferences session organised by Dataconsult Ltd in Bangkok.
For instance, although the financial markets in Vietnam are the
most sophisticated in relative terms, nearly all local money is
concentrated in the hands of the state sector.
By contrast in Burma finance is in a rudimentary stage, but there
are pockets of considerable wealth in private hands.
Then again while for some countries a stock exchange may be round
the corner, for others it is only a faint possibility.
In Vietnam, large limited-recourse finance deals, such as the
$190 million package arranged between the Exim bank of Japan and
the International Finance Corp for Morning Star Cement, have
become less exceptional.
"There are alternatives to coming in with your own bank plus
buckets of equity and collateral to get things moving," said Gene
Davis of venture capital firm Financial Thai.
Investors in Vietnam can conduct all the standard banking
transactions that make life easier, such as transferring money,
paying employees, issuing cheques, buying and selling currency.
By contrast in Burma very few regular bank transactions are
possible and the 20-fold discrepancy between the official and
black market exchange rates remains a major barrier despite the
expansion of the foreign exchange certificate scheme and
opportunities to convert investments to hard currencies.
Even international trade is still conducted mainly through
barter.
"Frankly, the best hope for Burma this year will be the continued
engagement of Japanese private capital," Michael Votikiotis of
the Far Eastern Economic Review told the conference. "Although it
is a slow process at least it acts as an incentive to stabilise
the fiscal regime."
Self-funded private investors are already meeting the demand for
finance in the substantial power and oil and gas sectors and, for
every company which holds back for fear of public approbation,
another, particularly those from Singapore, South Korea, Japan
and Malaysia, is willing to do business with the uniforms.
Trade has also benefited from this trend. Wealthy corporations
are distributing consumer goods and various commodities into a
rapidly expanding domestic market, according to Mr Davis, while
traditionally illicit exports, such as forestry, fisheries and
jewellery, are becoming more regulated.
In wider terms, the greater role of the International Monetary
Fund is a positive trend, even if it has yet to bear fruit.
In the meantime, private finance companies go some way toward
bridging the gap, such as Daiwa Securities' mandate to advise the
government on the establishment of a stock exchange.
Surprisingly, Burma was tipped to get a bourse before Vietnam,
and this could act as a further incentive for multinational
investors to take the plunge.
Burma has many more private companies than Vietnam plus a more
sophisticated legal framework on which to build the necessary
legislation.
Nevertheless, Vietnam is moving in the right direction with the
expected establishment of a Securities and Exchange Commission
this year, the first concrete step toward creating an organised
securities exchange.
Meanwhile, Laos has little hope of beating Burma or Vietnam in
establishing a stock exchange.
"With a population of only four million mainly engaged In
farming, there simply isn't the critical mass to support an
exchange," said Mr Davis, noting the attractiveness of many
investments depends on being able to secure listing on a stock
exchange as the company develops.
At least there are no such barriers to developing electricity
generation in - Laos. With the Electricity Generating Authority
of Thailand willing to enter long-term power purchase agreements
and hold discussions on at least 15 different power projects,
finance is not a problem.
Because the EGAT will buy the power, the projects will earn hard
currency, making them viable for international lenders. The
situation is similar for exploitation of natural resources.
For those looking for joint ventures, Mr Davis told the
conference: "In Vietnam there's hardly anyone in the private
sector who has a dime. You have to look hard to find a handful of
private entities with $5-10 million in hand if you want to make a
deal, whereas in Burma and Cambodia there are scores of private
individuals with tens of millions of dollars at their disposal."
In Vietnam state enterprises bound up in bureaucracy are the only
way to go for investors looking for a joint venture partner
whereas the field is more open in Burma or Cambodia.
(7) Union Day Speeches Highlight Burma's Deep Political
Divisions, Different Roads To 'Unity'
REPORT
Nussara Sawatsawang and Nusara Thaitawat
Rangoon
BURMA'S CELEBRATIONS marking the 49th anniversary of Union
Day vividly illustrated the clash in ideology and approach
between the ruling junta and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.
Burmese Prime Minister Gen Than Shwe, who also chairs the State
Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and Ms Suu Kyi took the
opportunity in separate gatherings to call for unity among all
ethnic groups.
The government's were more solemn, with senior leaders reviewing
a line-up of members of ethnic groups.
About 3,000 supporters of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy filled her lakeside compound to hear speeches by her
and ethnic leaders.
Both events featured cultural performances.
"The historic milestone that clearly indicated the Union spirit,
patriotic spirit and nationalism of the national races in Myanmar
in their struggles is the signing of the Panglong Agreement,"
said Gen Than Shwe in his official message in the state-run New
Light of Myanmar to commemorate Union Day.
Gen Than Shwe urged ethnic groups to stand behind the military to
safeguard "the already favourable conditions of unity". He was
referring to the ceasefires with 15 ethnic groups.
He defined their rights as part of the SLORC-sponsored national
convention which is drafting Burma's new constitution, a process
rejected by all democratic forces.
"The national convention in session has formulated constitutional
fundamental principles which will guarantee to serve the
political, economic and social rights of the respective national
races in building a new nation," Gen Than Shwe said.
Ms Suu Kyi said in her speech and in writing that the first and
most important issue to be tackled was the Panglong Agreement.
She called for a national convention to be held, rekindling the
Panglong spirit.
"Unity is something that cannot be gained through the use of
force or by arbitrary power," she said.
She told Inside Indochina during an interview that: "The spirit
of the agreement is still- much alive within the NLD and a lot of
people in Burma. It is basically an acceptance of the fact that
we are all equal within the union and it is on the basis of
equality that we will seek unity."
The agreement of February 12, 1947 draws its name from a small
market town north of Loilem in the Shan State, where leaders of
the Shans, Kachins, Chins and Burmese nationalists represented by
Gen Aung San, agreed to unite in diversity to rebuild their
devastated country following British rule, Japanese occupation
and World War II.
It is recognised as one of the most significant achievements in
nation-building in Burma, and has since been celebrated as Union
Day.
Mrs Suu Kyi continues to stand by her position that only a
political settlement through talks will resolve Burma's political
problems.
She said Burma's returning to a federal system would not
automatically guarantee the rights of the ethnic groups to secede
but would clearly demarcate the powers of the central and state
governments.
"The word federal acquired a rather strange meaning in Burma
because a lot of people in Burma seem to think that federal means
the right to secede, which is not what the word federal means,"
she said.
Mrs Suu Kyi stressed enough autonomy was needed for ethnic groups
to maintain their culture and pride and, more importantly, to
keep their faith in the union.
"They should see the union as an institution that protects them,
helps them, not as something which discriminates against them,"
she said.
Ms Suu Kyi rejects the SLORC's ceasefire agreements with ethnic
groups as only temporary. She also accuses the SLORC of going
back on its word not to deal with drug warlord Khun Sa, who it
seems to treat as an equal, judging from television and newspaper
coverage.
"A ceasefire, by be only temporary because it just means you
don't fire for the time being. Unless there is a political
settlement, unless there is a social and political climate that
can convince people that it is no longer necessary to bear arms
to defend their lives, we shall never have permanent peace in
this country," she said.
Since her release from six years of house arrest, Ms Suu Kyi and
the SLORC are still to open talks.
Some Rangoon-based diplomats and Burma observers doubt the SLORC
will. negotiate with her, even though it believes Ms Suu Kyi, as
an academic and daughter of a national hero, has a lot to
contribute to Burma in the fields of education, culture and
society.
"The SLORC is like those who have ridden a tiger, they will never
think of getting off," one Asian diplomat said.
An observer noted the SLORC had recently changed the word
"reconciliation" to "reconsolidation" in its political objectives
published in the state-owned newspaper since Khun Sa surrendered
last month, meaning it. believed in its strength and did not care
much about friendly relations with other groups.
But Ms Suu Kyi remains unmoved by the various analyses of her
future political role, which she insists will be decided by the
Burmese people.
"We firmly believe it cannot be long before we get democracy. The
chief reason is the desire of the people of Burma for democracy
is very strong. We think we will get to democracy sooner rather
than later," she said.
While maintaining her call for dialogue, she has kept herself
busy meeting supporters, diplomats and international
organizations, and through her now famous weekend speeches from
the gate of her house.
Last week, her compound hosted Union Day and Children's Day
celebrations to lend moral support to her followers. She also
hopes to travel more around the country.
The NLD has recently started to hold meetings of its
representatives from all over the country.
A party source said that every fortnight a lecture would be given
to educate party members about democracy. The topics would
include Burma's history, literature and laws such as prisoners'
rights.
"The NLD is strong. It was dormant for six years, so we are
having to wake it up a bit, but everybody was surprised at how
quickly we started operating again after my release from house
arrest. Operating under difficult circumstances, but operating,"
Ms Suu Kyi said represented by Gen
(6) Picturesque Former Colonial Outpost Ends More Than 30 Years
Of Isolation: Tourists Find Lake Of Tranquillity
REPORT:
Supapohn Kanwerayotin
TOURISTS ARE a novel attraction in this picturesque part of the
Shan plateau, where local people have long been accustomed to
isolation imposed by strongman Gen Ne Win from 1962 to 1988, and
by the terrain itself.
Local reaction to foreign tourists, who are armed with hard
currency and welcomed by the government, ranges from curious
stares from middle-age housewives to shy glances from teenagers
and school children.
Tourists may feel like intruders, but they are not hassled. The
street rate for the kyat, as in other provinces, is 100 to the US
dollar compared with 120 in Rangoon and the official rate of only
six.
The region offers more than the Intha leg-rowers or the Padaung
girls relocated from Kayah state, who pose for photos with
tourists for 300 kyat a time.
The largely denuded Shan Yoma mountain encircles the region
including the lake. The cool temperatures, the altitude and clear
sky attracted the British colonialists who built hill stations
such as Kalaw and Taunggyi as an escape from the heat in lower
Burma. The railroad built by the British in 1901 remains in use.
Visitors arriving from Rangoon by air land at an airstrip in
Heho, the only spot in the region that offers flat land big
enough for a runway. Passengers not on group tours must be
prepared for flight cancellations as the Heho leg can be dropped
without notice if there are not enough passengers to cover flight
costs.
Perched atop a mountainous ridge, Taunggyi was made the capital
of Shan state by the British. It has become a prosperous town
dominated by concrete buildings, an imposing central market, and
the headquarters of the Burmese army's Eastern Command which has
its own hospital.
"With 200,000 people Taunggyi is so crowded the government built
a new town at the foot of the hill," said a Karen guide.
This satellite town of Aye Tha Ya strikes visitors as a messy
addition to the city. The power supply has improved since a few
years ago when the eastern and western parts of town had to take
turns in having blackouts.
Capitalist competition is making inroads. Several men were
training for a marathon that featured, for the first time anyone
could recall, a car as first prize.
As in most other towns in the area, Taunggyi market operates
every five days. Visitors can brush shoulders with people from a
variety of ethnic groups and get a glimpse of how they live, what
they produce and eat. Goods made or grown in China are widely
available, including green apples from southern China that are
also the staple fruit of people in northern Vietnam.
Tourists on guided tours heading for Lake Inle often treat
Taunggyi as a stopover since it is seen as a commercial and
administrative centre. These tourists tend to be directed toward
the Hupin Hotel in Yaung-hwe (as pronounced in the Shan dialect,
while the Burmese version is Nyaung Shwe).
The Shan people, the majority race in the area, recognised
Yaung-hwe as their capital before the union which made their
state part of Burma. Now a nondescript town on the way to the
Lake Inle cruise, Yaung-hwe retains its unique flavour.
Buddhist monks from all over Shan state, like generations before,
use the same hall to recite Buddhist scriptures to pass
examinations. The examination hall was built by the last ruler of
Shan state, whose full title is Nyaung Shwe Chao Shwe Thaike.
Yaung-hwe boasts a spacious teak palace. Its last resident was
Chao Shwe Thaike who went to Rangoon to serve as the first
president of Burma after independence (1948-52) under the
Panglong power-sharing agreement reached among various ethnic
groups including the Burmese and the Shan.
The former palace has been converted into a museum which keeps a
minimal collection of old photos and regal paraphernalia. No
entry fee is charged. The cardinal rule of no footwear inside all
pagodas and monasteries applies.
The floating market is the highlight of the tour, with market day
following a schedule dictated by the lunar calendar.
Visit Myanmar Year has added a variation. If tourists miss the
main market, they can usually see a floating mini-mart of
souvenir-laden boats each equipped with a price chart that sets
the basis for bargaining.
Daily life around the lake continues at its own pace that starts
before dawn when locals secure their fishing spots.
Boat traffic builds up as the sun clears thick mists from the
56-square-mile lake surface. No one swims in the lake, for fear
of being entangled by a thick mesh of weeds.
The entire lake can be seen from port seats on the Heho-Rangoon
flight, but a cruise is the best way to appreciate its beauty.
About an hour's drive from Heho lies Kalaw, yet another British
hill station. Kalaw usually receives no more than overnight
transit stops from lake-bound travellers. Its pine forest, less
dense than it was three decades ago according to a long-term
resident, and well-maintained British-style country houses rival
those of Dalat the French hill resort in Vietnam.
Bicycles, horse-drawn carriages, bullock carts, a few beat-up
jeeps and four-sew cars ply the streets. A few military trucks
carry soldiers an take their children back to the barracks after
school.
Colonial houses dot the hills around Kalaw which used to have the
St Agnes' convent and Kingswood school during British rule.
Like elsewhere in Burma, Kalaw residents are deeply religious.
>From the Circular Road, the town's only road, visitors can see a
Roman Catholic church, a gleaming white Buddhist monastery and
mosque on ridge, Taunggyi was made the capital of Shan state by
the British.
(Typed by Research Department, ABSDF-MTZ)